Maurice Burgess, principal tenor, also serves as Director of Vocal Activities and Piano Studies at Gregg Middle School and is a faculty member for Gateway, the district’s gifted and talented arts program. He was a longtime voice instructor with Converse College: Lawson Academy of the Arts, as well as being a public school choral director at schools such as the awarding winning Dorman High School where, during his time there, the group was featured at the SCMEA state conference and consistently placed within the top 3 ensembles in the state. Programs under his direction receive consistent superior ratings and have consistently placed students in SCMEA All-State, SC ACDA state honors chorus, and ACDA National Honors chorus. This year, the GMS 6th Grade Honor Choir will be singing with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in a production of Carmina Burana. Burgess is a graduate of Western Carolina University where he received the Bachelor of Science degree in music education with a double concentration in both vocal and instrumental music. This was followed by a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Converse College. Additional studies focusing on voice performance and pedagogy include summer work at both Westminster Choir College and Indiana University. Maurice got his start singing professionally with Asheville Lyric Opera while still an undergraduate at WCU and has since performed operatic roles mostly with Converse Opera Theatre and Spartanburg Repertory Company. He has appeared in numerous concert works and was a scholarship recipient at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria where he was a member of the Lieder Program making his European debut as a recitalist. Educationally, he has also served as an adjudicator for SCMEA All-State, SC ACDA Honors Chorus auditions, Solo & Ensemble, and has also served as the clinician for the SCMEA 6th Grade Clinic and Choral Arts Reading Sessions. Maurice is the 2018 Clinician/Evaluator for the Indianapolis School Music Festival and will also serve as a choir host and clinician at the Music for All National Festival. During the summer, he serves as a faculty member for the MFA Drum Major Institute and is also a member of The Educators of National Voices of Youth committee. He was a 2010 recipient of the NATS Emerging Leaders Award and is also a member of the New York Singing Teachers Association. His voice students have been local, state, and regional competition winners, scholarship recipients to some of the top university programs in the nation, and have performed with numerous professional, amateur, and semi-professional performing organizations. As a trumpet teacher, his students have been members of both the SC Region and All-State bands as well as consistent recipients of superior ratings and acceptance into summer performing arts programs. He resides in Ladson, SC.